Cathay said it recorded another year of growth in its Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Programme in 2025, as more corporate and cargo customers joined the initiative to cut emissions from business travel and air cargo.

SAF commitments more than doubled from 2024, continuing the momentum built since the programme launched in 2022.

The Hong Kong flag carrier said the increase was supported by 17 global partners, whose participation has helped maintain the programme's position as one of the more established SAF initiatives in the industry.

Together, the corporate partners have committed to using around 17,400 tonnes of SAF, representing an increase of nearly 180% compared with 2024.

Cathay said this is equivalent to a reduction of approximately 54,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions on a lifecycle basis — equal to the emissions of about 61,800 Economy class round trips between Hong Kong and London.

Cathay said it welcomed Microsoft as a new partner to the programme in 2025, collaborating to address emissions from both air cargo and business travel. Kuehne + Nagel, a Diamond partner of the programme since 2024, remained the largest cargo contributor in 2025, while the partnership with DHL Express also enabled the first SAF uplift on flights operated by Air Hong Kong, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cathay Group.

Several Diamond partners of the programme, including EQT, have entered into multi-year SAF commitments with Cathay demonstrating a long-term commitment to scaling SAF and credibly reducing their climate impact from business travel and airfreight. DSV and Ernst & Young are also among the programme's 2025 Diamond partners, contributing towards the adoption of SAF.

"Growing commitments from partners in the Corporate SAF Programme enable Cathay to purchase additional SAF beyond mandatory requirements and its own voluntary usage, directly supporting the scaling of SAF," the carrier said in the announcement, adding that  this expanded SAF usage is made possible through partnerships with suppliers around the world, working together to increase the availability of SAF certified to internationally recognised sustainability standards across Cathay’s global network.

Key supplier partnerships in 2025 included China Aviation Oil Europe, Itochu, Neste, Shell Aviation, Sinopec and SK Energy, each contributing to the continued expansion of SAF usage by Cathay.

Cathay Group Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam said this underscored the need for broader industry collaboration to scale sustainable aviation fuel adoption.

"Cathay has set ambitious sustainability goals, but like every airline, we cannot achieve them on our own. The growing collaboration between our corporate customers and SAF suppliers through the Corporate SAF Programme is a powerful example of how collaboration with like-minded, ambitious partners can help scale SAF adoption," he said. "We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing trust and long-term commitments shown by our partners."

Lam added: "While the growth we saw in 2025 is encouraging, it is only one step in a much longer journey to decarbonisation. Supportive policies and well-designed market incentives will be essential if our industry is to scale SAF at the pace required to stay on track for its 2050 net-zero ambition"

Beyond its Corporate SAF Programme, Cathay is helping to scale SAF supply through strategic investments and partnerships, including two joint investment initiatives announced in 2025 that focus on accelerating SAF production capacity and development of next-generation SAF technologies in Asia and beyond.

These efforts complement Cathay's ongoing partnership with stakeholders across the value chain to advance SAF adoption across Cathay's global network.